I recently attended the "RACE: Are We So Different?" exhibit at the Seattle Center as part of a Krista Foundation outing with the Krista Colleague community. Once inside, I found myself at a unique display including a binder full of notecards where many visitors expressed both contempt and reverence for sports mascots.

A number of the commenters self-identified as Native, illuminating the trauma and harm that sports mascots inflict on them, their tribes, and communities. Juxtaposed to these heartfelt truths were the thoughts of those who see no problem with the manner in which sports teams have co-opted Native cultural images and in many instances commercialized the most stereotypical Native images. As if the dialogue were not complex enough, there were those who self-identified as Native who took no issue with the mascots and maybe even saw other issues as more concerning.

One comment stood out vividly. A member of the Tlingit tribe described what they believed to be the gravest issues facing Native communities. They discussed the life expectancy of Native males and the drop-out rate of Native teens, stating, "These issues are far more important than sports team mascots." To many, Native mascots do not seem like a big issue, but often it is the things that seem the smallest that have the greatest impact.

As a brown person in the white institution of law I constantly deal with small nuanced forms of racism that exist because of larger ones. The larger ones will continue to exist because we are afraid and/or unwilling to deal with the smaller forms of racism.

There is an overall acceptance of the co-optation of cultural assets in the United States with disregard for the impact on communities and people. Additionally, rarely do the owners and creators of those cultural assets receive any sort of recognition or payment for the use of their image even when the image is being used for profit. This process further contributes to the damage done to a community or cultural groups psyche and continues to propel a negative and oppressive relationship between the "minority" and the "majority"1.

While some non-Native people may not see the problem, and may even point to to those Native people who take no issue with it to legitimate their own point of view, the reality is there are Native peoples who are offended by the use of their cultural assets as mascots. When considering racial and ethnic concerns that may seem minute, it is important to remember that big things are often made of smaller things. A small cut can very easily become an infection and a small change can be the catalyst needed to spark a big change.

Dr. John M. Perkins speaks of these little things in his work. When I was in college I sat in a room of young leaders at Seattle Pacific University eager to make change in the world. He told us the key to community development is understanding that the most obvious problems are often symptoms of a larger underlying illness. He told us, "rarely is the solution to the most obvious struggle the root cause of the problem". He encouraged us to consider the small and often times overlooked concerns, especially if those are the concerns the community is point us towards.

He then shared with us this story:

A team of community developers arrived in a neighborhood. They interviewed the people, did research and prepared a list of things they believed the community needed to solve. This list had hundreds of items ranked from the most important to the least. The community members' response to the community developers was that the rat problem was the most important issue to address. The rat problem was ranked in the lowest portion of the list the developers created. Despite their own ideas, the community developers listened to the neighborhood and addressed the rat problem first. As the rats disappeared so did most of the list.

Dr. Perkins shared this story to remind us of two key principles in community development: The small things matter and a community knows itself better than an outside community developer.

At the University of Washington Law School, I listen to people daily discuss our systems and struggles - rarely reflecting on their own role in a problematic system. They hardly ever consider the importance and value of community voice and in particular those communities that are marginalized and disenfranchised. In these spaces there are few people of color, and like those who shared their opinions in the binder at the race exhibit, we do not always agree on the solution. This often becomes a tool of division, co-optation, and/or further marginalization of those voices who speak in opposition to the majority opinion.

Listening is of the utmost importance in addressing any and every situation. If we do not first listen, we will not know how to act in ways that promote wholeness and reconciliation. Too often in U.S. culture do we rely on our formal education (and our privilege) as clout for why we should lead or be in charge. We are not very good at following those who have less formal education, though the community members have far more experience and knowledge regarding their community.

Mascots may seem like a small issue, but when we consider our generational memories of historic racial violence and present afflictions we can see that the psyches of people of color (and white people) have been damaged by big things sustained by small consistent actions and inactions. This small act is the continued poking and prodding on a large wound and emblematic of how we often devalue other people and their cultures. Mascots may not seem like a big deal in light of drop-out rates and mass incarceration, but they are small piece of the puzzle in addressing the root causes of both individual and institutional racism. Our willingness and humility to eliminate the "small" things are a way we show our love and respect for humanity and lead us towards addressing the "larger" struggles.

I believe that we would better serve each other and society if we learned to see multiple solutions, no matter how big or small, as viable and equally necessary; to address the mascots, drop-out rates and mass incarceration all at once.

The work of reconciliation is not easy and often happens in the least obvious places. Reconciliation, like a journey, happens one step at time; sometimes in small steps and sometimes in large strides. We often do not know the value of our small steps, but without them we would not have made it through the journey. Listening and acting on the small things makes the big changes possible.

1 The use of quotations around "majority" and "minority" is to signify an important nuance in the use of these terms. It is not to say one group is more major and the other more minor, but in this instance referring to specifically numbers or the size of the population of people. The majority being the larger quantitative group and minority being a smaller quantitative group. In the United States the use of these terms in this manner is appropriate, but in a place like South Africa, where the minority (Dutch/white South Africans) were in power and the majority (Native/black South Africans) were not, these terms must be used differently.

THE KRISTA FOUNDATION FOR GLOBAL CITIZENSHIP cordially invites you and yours to attend SALT OF THE EARTH: Celebrating the Flavors of Service, the 2014 Krista Foundation for Global Citizenship Fundraiser.

Each year exceptional young adults embrace local and global challenges through a service year - engaging the complexity of poverty, educational inequality, human trafficking, health disparities, environmental degradation, and more.

You might believe these young adults are the salt of the earth, but they will tell you that the salt of the earth are the people they interacted with, the communities they endeavored to serve. And that their own lives are changed forever, seasoned with richness, depth, and flavor.

Join us as we explore the theme SALT OF THE EARTH, highlighting the importance of equipping twenty-something leaders - not merely a year - but for a lifetime, positively impacting the community and workplace they serve for decades to come.

Come and invest in a vision of global citizenship where leadership is enriched with the ethics of service and the tools to navigate the complexities the world demands today. Savor a taste of this future.

THROUGH the berries and broccoli on our plates, all of us are connected to the struggle for immigration reform. Following his service placement as a coordinator for Mentor253 through the Northwest Leadership Foundation, 2011 Krista Colleague Joe Martinez is now Global Advocate and Mexico Program Director for the United Farm Workers, and finding himself in a pivotal leadership role navigating this sensitive and complex issue.

Joe seeks to ensure that H2-A guestworkers working in the U.S. are protected by contracts governing wages, housing, and work hours. A typical day might find him monitoring international farmworker recruitment practices, meeting with the governor of the State of Michoacán, or talking to farmworkers about avoiding abuse. He thrives working independently, until he finds himself in a situation where other perspectives would be helpful.

That's why reconnecting and processing with Krista Colleagues during the 2014 Krista Foundation debriefing retreat was so meaningful for Joe. "At times you think you are alone, and it's hard to believe that someone would understand!" he says. Since he transitioned from his service placement there have been few opportunities to evaluate and assess next steps. "The last year and a half with the UFW, it has been harder to have that space to reflect, to ask myself, is this the path to follow, is it adding to my life?" Besides reaffirming the importance of shared reflection, the debriefing weekend helped Joe brush up on critical process skills like crossing cultures. "Although I am of Mexican descent, I never noticed how American I am until I worked in Mexico. I am not a Mexican from Mexico!"

Re-encountering Krista Foundation tools that focus on understanding one's own cultural lens in the context of multiple cultures is essential to Joe's work among senators, representatives, farm workers, and farm owners on both sides of the border. "I try to meet them where they are, and to bridge that gap so we can try to help one another." His long-term goal? "Comprehensive immigration reform that includes a better process for guest workers, and a path to citizenship."

The Krista Foundation would like to extend gratitude to the amazing sponsors of our March 30th Seattle Fundraiser, SALT OF THE EARTH: Celebrating the Flavors of Service. Without the generosity, support of our work, and commitment to young adults practicing a life of service leadership the event would not be possible!